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Description
Deirdre Cooper Owens an associate professor of history and Africana studies at the University of Connecticut will offer a lecture entitled, “Harriet Tubman: A Disabled American Hero,” will be held on Thursday, September 18 , 2025, at 6 p.m., preceded by a reception at 5:30 p.m.
Cooper will discuss the life of Harriet Tubman through the lens of disability. Cooper will explore how Tubman lived in a world of challenges and overcame difficult obstacles, most importantly, her enslavement. “She was the most written about American woman of the 19th century, a war hero, activist, and philanthropist. Her life was a model in decency and democracy,” Cooper says.
“Although there are numerous biographies about Harriet Tubman’s life, none of them delve into her disabilities and how her conditions impacted her decision-making and life.”
About Deirdre Cooper Owens
Before her most recent appointment at the University of Connecticut, Owens simultaneously directed the Program in African American History at the Library Company of Philadelphia and a medical humanities program at the University of Nebraska. During that time, she was the only Black woman in the country serving as director of an academic medical humanities program. She is a popular public speaker, has appeared in several documentaries, podcasts and television newscasts as a historical expert, and is a nationally recognized reproductive-justice advocate. She is an Organization of American Historians’ Distinguished Lecturer, a past American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Fellow, and an elected member of the American Antiquarian Society. Time Magazine named her as one of the country’s “best historians.” She has won several prestigious honors and awards for her scholarly and advocacy work in history and reproductive and birthing justice. Her first book, “Medical Bondage: Race, Gender and the Origins of American Gynecology” won a Darlene Clark Hine Book Award from the Organization of American Historians as the best book written in African American women’s and gender history. She is currently working on a popular biography about Harriet Tubman that will examine her life through the lens of disability.
Date & Time
Thu, Sep 18, 2025 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Venue Details
New Haven Museum
114 Whitney AvenueNew Haven, Connecticut 06510
